This invention relates in general to firearms and deals more particularly with an improved safety mechanism for a handgun which prevents accidental discharge of the gun. The mechanism of the present invention is particularly adapted for a multi-shot handgun of a double action type, that is a handgun wherein a single pull of a trigger raises a hammer, moves the hammer to a tripping position in opposition to the biasing force of a mainspring, and releases the hammer in its tripping position to move freely to its firing position in response to potential energy stored within the mainspring. After each shot is fired the hammer comes to rest in its firing position adjacent the breech from which position it must be raised to fire the next round. The trigger must be released after each round is fired to reset the firing mechanism to fire the next round.
When a gun of the aforedescribed general type is subjected to unusual shock, as, for example, an unusually great recoil resulting from an excessive propellant charge or loading density, hammer inertia may be sufficiently great to cause movement of the hammer toward its tripping position and through a distance sufficient to reset the mechanism and store enough energy in the mainspring to return the hammer to its firing position with sufficient force to fire the next round. The present invention is concerned with this problem.